August Kenzler

August Kenzler, 43, was born in London, England around 1868 although his exact background remains unclear.

No records for August's birth or his family background can be traced and there is no sign of him on census records in the periods covering 1871-1891. The first obtainable record for him was a registration for his marriage to Emma Brammah ¹ in London in 1896.

Emma Brammah, née Dawe (?) ² was born in Gosport ³, Hampshire, England around 1853. She was first married to a William Brammah (b. 1852 in Blackburn, Lancashire), a ship and house painter, and settled in Southampton where she appears on the 1881 census living at 17 Anglesea Terrace, St Mary. The couple spent time in South Africa before resettling in England around 1883 and living in Southampton then Plaistow, Essex. They at least five children: William H. J. (1882-1914), George Albert (b. 1884), Walter Percy (b. 1885), John Thomas (b. 1890) and Ada Florence (b. 1892). Emma appears to have been widowed in early 1896.

August and Emma were married in the summer months of 1896 in London but would have no children of their own. On the 1901 census August is absent, perhaps at sea, but his wife and stepchildren are recorded as living at 2 New Road, West Ham, Essex. The 1911 census would see the family shift southward to Southampton. August and his family were by now living at 19 Orchard Place, St Mary and he was described as a storekeeper in shipping.

When he signed-on to the Titanic, on 6 April 1912, August gave his address as 21 Blechynden Terrace, (Southampton). His last ship had been the Olympic. As storekeeper he received monthly wages of £7.

Kenzler died in the sinking. His body, if recovered, was never identified. The following death notice appeared in an unidentified newspaper:

KENZLER--On board s.s. Titanic, April 15th, August, the beloved husband of Emma Kenzler, aged 44, 21 Blechynden Terrace, Southampton. Deeply mourned by his sorrowing wife. In the midst of life we are in death.

August's widow Emma never remarried and remained in Southampton where she died in 1929 aged 76.